Instead of dried seafood, Mr Wong said many people could have bought less costly food items such as noodle gift packs from the just-ended Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo.

The 23-day expo, which closed on January 4, attracted a record 2.16 million visitors and attained total sales of HK$270 million. Some visitors said they bagged bargains for the Lunar New Year at the fair.

Lunar New Year begins this year on January 26, only a month after Christmas.

Wong Wing-hoi, the owner of another dried seafood shop, Kien Shing Hong, said the weeks before the Chinese festival were usually the shop's busiest period of a year. However, the gloomier economy had seen two-thirds of his clients stay away.

'Even though we cut prices by 30 per cent, no one comes to makes purchases,' Mr Wong said. 'We used to have a turnover of HK$30,000 to HK$40,000 a day, but now it's about HK$1,500 to HK$2,000 per day. That's not even enough to pay the rent.'

Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairwoman Caroline Mak Sui-king said a shorter gap between the two festivals was always a challenge to the retail industry, even in good years, because people who had spent a lot over Christmas would be hesitant to spend more. Ms Mak said the Brands and Products Expo and other fairs 'had absorbed quite a lot of retail purchases, which may affect Chinese New Year sales - especially food and confectionary'.

MTR Corporation chief shopping centre manager Candy Ng Chui-lok said she was confident that its malls would see sales values and traffic increase by an average of 10 per cent this Lunar New Year.

'[Hong Kong people] are not without money but it's just a confidence matter,' Ms Ng said. 'Many stay in town for the holiday, while the cold weather helps a lot in boosting the business of hot-pot restaurants and the sales of clothes.'